Elements of a network, such as peer User-to-Network Interfaces (UNIs), may be controlled by another component of the network, such as an Element Management System (EMS). Standard protocols for communication between UNIs exist, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) management standard known as Y.1731, which is a protocol that exchanges Operation, Administration, and Management (OAM) parameters end-to-end from UNI to UNI. The Y.1731 standard may be used for services requiring protection switching by, for example, sending a Y.1731-based Automatic Protection Switching (APS) message between two UNIs in band to perform a particular switching action. Such a message consumes extra bandwidth between the two UNIs. If the Y.1731-based APS messages are not used, the EMS typically sends switching commands to both UNIs separately through a Data Communication Network (DCN), which takes longer than the 50 milliseconds switch performance required by many service level agreements. According to the standard, the two UNIs may also monitor a connection between the UNIs by exchanging continuity check messages (CCMs) up to, for example, 300 times per second, for supporting protection of the connection.